City Notes: Manager defends buses, even when they appear empty

CITY NOTES | NICK PENZENSTADLER

Last week I wrote about the potential for a regional transit authority that would open the possibility to a 0.2 sales tax to help fund Valley Transit, and I got the call that comes like clockwork.

An irritated reader accused me of shilling for the bus service "that has empty buses running around the city and is a waste of our tax money." Unfortunately, the man didn't leave his name or number.

Nearly each time I write about Valley Transit I'll get the same call, so I asked general manager Deborah Wetter if she hears the same.

"I do," Wetter said. "I tell them to look outside their window and unless you live on Oneida or Northland, the streets are likely empty most of the day. The point is you don't build a transportation system for the valleys and lulls, you build it for when people need to get places. If you go down to the transit center at peak times you'll see loads of people getting on buses."

Through October, Valley Transit posted ridership of 919,058, an all-time high and about 1 percent more than this time last year.

About 20 percent of the agency's $9 million budget comes from rider fares. Local taxes support about 20 percent of the budget, and the remaining 60 percent is state and federal transit money, which is largely supported by gas taxes, Wetter said.

"We also get asked why we don't have smaller buses, but when 80 percent of the cost is the driver, the size of the bus needs to accommodate peak times, and having two fleets is incredibly expensive."

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City Notes: Manager defends buses, even when they appear empty

Last week I wrote about the potential for a regional transit authority that would open the possibility to a 0.2 sales tax to help fund Valley Transit, and I got the call that comes like clockwork.

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